Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Getting the G1 working in Canada on Rogers' GSM network isn't hard, but you won't be able to use a true 3G connection - you'll only get an EDGE connection. For me, that's good enough and I love the phone. I've never owned an iPhone so I'll leave the iPhone vs G1 debate to others.

You'll need an unlocked phone. Apparently T-Mobile will unlock any phone for any customer who has been with T-Mobile at least 3 months. Of course, someone will write an unlocking program so new customers don't have to wait 3 months. You may also be able to buy an unlocked G1 from non-T-Mobile sources.

Put a Rogers SIM card into the G1 phone. You should have an iPhone/SmartPhone data plan with Rogers - the Blackberry plan won't work (at least not with these instructions). When I called to switch my plan I said that I had an iPhone - no point in confusing the operator. With the SIM in place you should have voice connectivity right away.

To get data working, go to Settings | Wireless controls | Mobile networks | Access Point Names. You'll see a long list of T-Mobile networks. Press the menu button, select New APN, then modify these values:

Name: Rogers

APN: internet.com

Username: wapuser1

Password: wap

MCC: 302 - should be preset correctly

MNC: 72 - should be preset correctly

Don't forget to press menu and Save. If you're in an EDGE coverage area, an EDGE icon should appear in the status bar next to the signal strength indicator. Mine appeared within a couple of seconds.

Browsing, email, video and SMS works, but I haven't been able to get MMS working. It may be that my Rogers plan isn't configured for MMS. I think the below settings should work - if you find they do work or what to change to make them work, please let me know. Create a New APN and set these values:

Name: Rogers MMS

APN: media.com

Username: media

Password: mda01

Server: 172.25.0.107 - or maybe this should be * - I've tried both

MMSC: http://mms.gprs.rogers.com

APN type: mms

EDGE is as good as it gets in Canada with the G1 hardware. The G1 has quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE, but only dual band (1700/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA (3G). Rogers operates their network on 850/1900Mhz, so the G1 hardware can only use EDGE. Bell and Telus are building "4G" networks but they'll also operate on 850/1900Mhz. So, I don't recommend buying a G1 for use in Canada if you're a heavy data user. My unlocked handset came from my employer and replaced my EDGE Blackberry, so I'm very happy. Hopefully there will be other Android hardware released soon that will be compatible with 850/1900Mhz 3G in Canada.

I discovered a good Rogers developer document [pdf]. It's targeted at developers building applications for the Rogers network, but lists everything needed to get non-Rogers hardware connected. The first few pages are also a good overview of GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, 3G, etc.

Update: To clarify, an EDGE connection is usually slower than a 3G connection. I say "usually" because it depends on a ton of network factors.

Update: If you have a G1 with a T-Mobile plan, you can bring it to Canada and it will just work, including data. You'll be roaming on Rogers network and you'll be charged whatever T-Mobile's roaming rates are, but no additional configuration is needed.

Update: Make sure to check out the comments for lots of other settings that work, including on some other Canadian carriers.

Yes, you could use the G1 without a data plan in Canada. With a Rogers SIM, don't setup the APN information listed above and I don't think you'll be charged (although, it is Rogers...). When the phone is able to connect to WiFi you'll get data.

Even with a data plan, the phone will use a WiFi network for data if it can find an open connection. The WiFi settings allow you to connect to protected networks, so at home and in the office I'm on those. Hopefully that's keeping my Rogers data usage down, but Rogers has been "unable to display my account" for a week or two. I'll post something when I get the bill.

If you're in Canada with a T-Mobile SIM, you can turn off data to keep your bill down: Setting | Wireless controls | Mobile networks then make sure Data roaming is unchecked. You'll still get data via WiFi when connected.

To be clear, if you have a Rogers SIM and don't setup the Rogers APN information, you won't be charged, but you also won't have data access except on WiFi. Applications will still try to get data when not on WiFi (unless you manage to find the settings to disable them all) but will fail. I can't imagine that Rogers would charge you for failed connection attempts.

Okay, great, thanks. Yes, that's the thing, with Rogers, you never know what they will hit you with when comes the bill... Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll give it a try, I really want that phone, and don't feel like waiting until Spring '09, or whenever they say that the phone will officially be available in Canada.

@mdverma - Interesting. It sounds like you're going through the very first setup screens with a Rogers/Fido SIM in the phone. That's uncharted territory for me. I was in the US with a T-Mobile card the first time I setup the phone so got through the initial screens easily.

In other news, http://www.unlock-tmobileg1.com/ has become the first site that can unlock G1 phones. Too bad they charge 24USD. Disclaimer: I haven't tried it and have no idea if it works. Anyone got any experience?

I am getting very frustrated with Rogers, and was hoping someone may have some advice. I bought a new SIM for my Android Dev 1 unlocked handset.. And I cannot get it to work with ANY data plan I have had Rogers put on it... The SIM from my Blackberry (Also Rogers) works in it, and the chip I bought works in my Blackberry and in my wife's Nokia that is on Fido.. Any suggestions on why I cannot make this SIM work on the G1? I cannot use my other SIM as it belongs to the company I work for.

I just bought the G1 and now I need to get a Rogers SIM card and activate it. i have a few questions. ( I'm new at this, sorry if the questions are basic)1. When I buy the sim card from Rogers is it oK to tell them its for the G1 or should I tell them its for another phone (which phone?).2. What data plan should I select? Which plan have you selected to give the G1 full function?3. Can I transfer my existing Telus phone number to Rogers.

Thanks for all the great info. Took me days to get data up and running on the rogers network and in the end all it was was the 370 instead of 37 for the MNC.

Problem I'm having now is that all my received sms msg's are 5 hrs behind when there in my sms threads. My outgoing is timed correctly but for some reason every text that comes in is 5 hrs off. Not sure if its a network or something wrong with the phone. Any thoughts?

I set my G1 up on Fido prepaid, so I can confirm that you don't need a data plan to set it up. After setting the APN as described in an earlier comment, I also had to ensure that I allowed the phone to connect to roaming (non-home) networks before the phone would pass the setup screen.

The Fido plans also allow you to use prepaid data instead of the data contract. However, this costs 5 cents per kb ($50 per mb), so its outrageously expensive. The phone will try to sync with g-mail as soon as you finish setting up. You should go into the settings box and disable the roaming networks as soon as possible after setting up, then set up the wireless settings and finish connecting from there.

I have a fairly complicated scenario. I bought the G1 while living in the US, unlocked it and input my AT&T SIM in and everything was just fine. Recently I have moved to Canada for a job opportunity and am still using my AT&T SIM simply roaming on the Edge Network (provided by Rogers). Calls still work properly but I can no longer send text messages or browse the web. Any ideas?

Wondering if anyone can help me out here? I just received the G1 and unlocked, using it with Rogers. Everything works great except for voicemail. When i access the voicemail it tells me that it is an invalid mailbox number. the plan i'm on has visual voicemail if that makes a difference.

I am using my G1 on Fido. Here's my idea to access PAID apps in the market. I would purchase a T-Mobile prepaid SIM card and have it sent here, then put a small balance on it which would last 90 days. By using my WiFi connection I would attempt to view paid apps.

So, this should work if T-Mobile customers can access paid apps when roaming out of the country. Does this make sense?

I have a brand new G1 Developer phone and have set all the settings as indicated above. I have seen both the G and Edge network icons appear but I cannot get past the setup - "trouble communicating with Google servers" comes up everytime.

I can see traffic arrows lighting up which indicates that there is some kind of traffic.

seems like the guys in canada are only on the edge network...if u have 3g networks available there there is a way to force the g1 to connect to 3g...download "Any Cut" fromthe android market...open and select new shortcut go to activity then go to phone info rename or not then select ok and a icon should b on the home screen...click it go to preferred network type and select wcdma only....now im in the US and using Att with g1 and have data plan...it connects and says 3g but also says raoming..att does not charge for roaming networks unless your outside the country...for u guys dont know but i hope u can get 3g speeds..shure makes the expirience better

@my - Thanks for the tip, but I'm pretty confident that it won't work. The chip inside the phone doesn't talk the same frequency that Rogers' 3G network talks - and Rogers is the only 3G network in Canada. In the US, ATT does have a 3G network, so you can probably connect to it.

I'm another guy who can't get past the setup - "trouble communicating with Google servers" stage to associate the phone with my google account. I have a current plan with Rogers, took the SIM card from my phone and stuck it in the google phone, and added a "Flex Rate" data plan to my account. I also entered all the APN settings and deleted all the T1 APN entries. I've tried both 72 and 720 for the MNC setting. The phone shows plenty of signal strength from Rogers, but I've never seen any EDGE or other icons.

Got it working....Deleted all APN's, and started over. Followed the instructions carefully in the little card that came with the Dev 1 phone. Not sure if editing the same APN over and over just wasn't working, but starting over did. Also made sure I was in an area with a strong signal.

I am a researcher (SFU) in Vancouver - and still am not sure where to buy a developer g1 in Canada? Anysuggestions. Do I cross over the border goto to t-mobie and bring it up or is there some official way for a developer to purchase up here?

@steved - There are 2 types of unlocked phones. The most common are SIM-unlocked phones, which can be used with any phone network's SIM card. They're for advanced consumers who want to configure the phone on a network of their choice (instructions for Rogers in Canada are in the original blog post above). You can probably find one of those on eBay pretty easily.

There are also developer phones (which are also SIM-unlocked). The flash memory in the phone is unlocked so you can update to a new operating system, you can run as root, etc. Basically, you have complete control of the phone. They are intended for developers building applications and extending the Android OS. Here are instructions for buying and setting up an Android Dev Phone 1: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/device.html#dev-phone-1 They're available for purchase in a number of countries, including Canada, but they come from the US and I think the shipping and taxes may be ridiculously high. So you may want to have it shipped to a friend the US and pick it up there - of course you should pay the taxes when you bring it back to Canada. :)

I just "rooted" my HTC-Magic phone from Rogers to Install the new HT-Sense UI and the process wiped my APN data so I no longer could access 3G... Your post save me big time!

To answer some of the questions in previous posts:

- 3G quality is excelent in greater metropolitain area only. Some region dont even have Edge/2G- Android-dls has all the info on rooting/upgrading your Rogers Android phone, but I still dont see paid apps in the store even "rooted"- Contract terms on Rogers allow tethering with data plans and two apps dont require root access to work

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Hey, nice blog! hopefully most of you have solved the issues you were having with data reception on the G1. But just in case there are some out there experiencing problems, I might have some answers.

for the users with an unlocked g1, or even a rooted device, it might be easier to fix some of the issues. For example, the roaming sign atop the signal bar. To remove that, simply flash the latest radio update for your g1. you can find it by googling it.

As far as activation of the phone goes, it isn't necessary for a data plan on the 1.6 firmware and later (since they have added a skip button). But on the later ones, I suggest you borrow a SIM with a data plan or get a temporary one from your provider. There IS a way to do it over wifi, but it's too much of a hastle in my own opinion. There are tons of forums out there with instructions on how to do it.

As for the APN's, it's always good to keep a list of major provider APN's handy just incase you happen to have their service running on ur phone.

I'm currently running a rooted version of the 1.6 firmware on my g1 and on the Fido network. About to switch to rogers on their prepaid unlimited txt and data plan, only because it's better :P

I am trying to activate my unlocked T-mobile G1 phone to use my rogers sim card on it which has data, but when i am signing into my google account it still says error even after i have change the APN to rogers APN, but by the signal bars they're is the "E" for EDGE I am assuming. So i do not know what else to do, please help. Thanks.